


venus syndrome

by survivalinstinctvalkyria



Series: our ashes fall over us (keichi relationship issues - oneshots) [1]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, they are such idiots, this is a mess but I'm tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 05:25:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16469606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/survivalinstinctvalkyria/pseuds/survivalinstinctvalkyria
Summary: Like flowers, fluttering around love,Those goddesses are deeply etched on my maiden's mind.Do you know venus? I'll be your venus.For this bird that has remembered the taste of the ripen fruit,Please show me the dream of eternity./Keito should've known better than to ignore his boyfriend's calls.





	venus syndrome

**Author's Note:**

  * For [acciss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acciss/gifts).



> Sorry this took so long, I was busy crying
> 
> Ahh, in all seriousness, this is kind of a mess?? I don't really know what happened when I was writing from this but I feel like I disassociated with it
> 
> I kind of like this though
> 
> (Minami is my best cgss girl, so her image song and keichi is... a good combination!!)

As he's trying to work on his student council work, Keito's phone buzzes, a ring piercing through the tranquility. Reaching for it, he glances over the screen.

_‘don't pick up’ is calling you,_ it reads, and he groans.

It returns to its place next to him, Keito hoping that it'll stay silent so he can keep working. It doesn't, he should've known. Silencing the second call, he wonders if he'll get any work done.

When the phone rings a third time, he picks it up begrudgingly.

“Oh, you picked up! Third time's a charm, after all,” Eichi chirps.

“What do you want? I told Kiryu to keep you from annoying me, why the hell isn't he?”

“Spare Kiryu-kun the lectures, please.” At least, Eichi's tone sounds sympathetic. “He took me to get tea and now we're sitting here with a picture of you opened on his phone.”

“Why are you calling me then?”

“I wanted to hear your voice,” Eichi answers, and even over the phone, his voice is soft and sincere. Keito _hates_ it. “Kiryu-kun told me you named my contact 'don't pick up’, you're so mean. You're an awful boyfriend.”

“What do you suggest I change it to?”

“Your contact is named ‘Darling♡’. Ah, you should make mine 'Sweetheart’!”

“Over my dead body,” Keito grumbles, lifting his pen again in effort to get work done.

“Aww, meanie. You're neither happy to see me when I'm with you nor when I'm not - you're an awful boyfriend. I'll have Kiryu-kun put you in a headlock when he sees you next.” Keito can hear Kuro snort across from Eichi, and promises himself that Kuro _will_ face the consequences of his actions.

Evidently, Eichi had no real reason to call him, so Keito hangs up at that.

* * *

 

It's the middle of the night, and Keito is trying to get some rest, but after all of that paperwork from before, it just leaves his mind racing. But he _is_ tired, so he's doing his best to just focus on getting to bed.

That is, until he hears the phone ring, and his groan is audible. In a daze, he reaches for it to check who it's from.

It's from Eichi, and he's willing to bet the seven unread messages are also from Eichi.

“What the hell,” he mutters, and it comes out less like a question and more like a grumbling statement.

Without questioning his decision, he declines the call, powers off his phone, and forces himself to fall asleep.

When he wakes up in the morning, the first thing he does is check Eichi's messages just to make sure that idiot didn't go and do something completely stupid while he was sleeping.

Opening the messaging app, he's met with a barrage of messages, more than he'd expected.

_don't pick up: Keito, can I call you right now?_

_don't pick up: I don't want to talk about it over text, but_

_don't pick up: I really want to hear your voice right now._

_don't pick up: I can tell you're not sleeping_

_don't pick up: Keito please_

_don't pick up: I promise I'll pay you back_

_don't pick up: Please pick up_

_don't pick up: I left a voicemail_

_don't pick up: I probably won't be able to fall asleep for a while, so if you could return it, I'd be grateful_

Now this is… not what Keito had bargained on happening. Was Eichi hurt? Is he still hurt? Did something happen? Questions swarm his mind, but he's offered no answers, nor a drop of comfort, so navigating to his calling app, he presses on Eichi's voicemail.

“Keito,” the recording starts, and with only one word, Keito can tell Eichi's voice is trembling. “You probably are going to make fun of this but… I had a nightmare. I was dangling over this big, black pit, about to fall in, but there was a hand holding mine so I couldn't fall. It was your hand, but you weren't looking at me. When you finally met my gaze your face was—” there's a choked sob, “angry, you were looking at me like you despise me. And then you… you dropped me, and the last thing I saw was…” he goes silent for a moment, “y—your face, laughing. I know it's selfish, but I really wanted to hear your voice, Keito.”

The recording ends just like that, Keito staying deathly still even seconds after it ends.

_I should've picked up—_

But he hadn't, and it's surely too late to call him back now. His hand hovers over the phone icon, but doesn't press down.

What if this was all a sob story, just to get Keito to talk to him. It's a terrible thought, but he can't help thinking.

Even more terrible, is the unbidden thought the cause for all of Eichi's nightmares is Keito himself.

* * *

 

Two days after Eichi's call, they hadn't talked about it the day after, Eichi is nowhere to be seen. He gets no answers from the Tenshouin servants, nor from anyone at school.

Even more worrying is that the fact that Wataru, too, is nowhere to be seen. Fearing the worst, he tries calling Eichi. It rings three times before the call is declined. A second call, and it only rings once. A third, and he's sent straight to voicemail.

_Is he really ignoring me?_

Despite himself, he tries to text Eichi.

_You: Where the hell are you_

_You: is Hibiki with you_

_You: Eichi I swear_

_You: Eichi_

As if the world is playing a cruel joke on him, the _read_ icon pops up, but no reply comes.

The next day isn't much better.

* * *

 

After school on the third day of Eichi and Wataru being missing, Keito is doing paperwork for the student council by himself, having already dismissed the other members. He's just too short-tempered and irritable to be able to put the others through that, after all. Maybe he should call Eichi again, but that doesn't mean he will, not when Eichi's been ignoring all of his calls. Just as he is tempted to do this opposite of what he'd resolved, his phone rings with a call. Not just any call, it seems, but a video call from Wataru.

Picking up, he sighs. “What do you want?”

Wataru's figure in front of him is dimmed slightly, eyes half-lidded with tire and hair up in a messy ponytail. It looks like he just got out of bed, what with how he's still in a t-shirt and seems to be yawning.

“Good morning, my fated rival…!” he announces, and even though his voice is a hushed whisper, it still demands Keito's attention like usual.

“It’s four-thirty in the afternoon,” Keito replies, even though he can clearly see that the room Wataru is in is dyed in hazy colors, the sun's rays light and almost shy as they light up the room.

“Ah, but there's a time difference, you see? We're in Vienna right now!”

_“We?”_

“Oh, right, Eichi and I!”

“What do you mea—”

“—But that's not important! I've been _trying_ to get Eichi to pick up your calls, but to no avail! Oh, what a tragic romance you have!”

“Pardon?”

“I keep telling him: _you need to pick up his calls, Eichi!,_ but he never does! He said he wanted to give you a taste of your own medicine, or something childish like that? He's so endearing like that, isn't he? Next time, you need to come with us, Eichi has been pretending his pillow is you for the past few nights! Sometimes he even mumbles your name—it’s so _cute!_ Oho, is your face red, Keito? Ah, your romance is passing over the distance with ease!”

“Excuse me, _what_?”

“Nevermind, nevermind. It's really a shame you aren't with us, Keito, it'd be fun to drag you through Europe! But don't worry about missing out, we're bring you a _ton_ of souvenirs. And - remember how Eichi was ignoring your calls? - even though he's mad at you, he's been taking picture after picture for you to use as references! Oh, isn't he absolutely darling?”

“I'm going to say it again: _what on Earth?”_

“Eichi was mad at you for ignoring his calls, so as a present for himself, he dragged me off to Europe,” Wataru answers, surprisingly easily. “But fear not! I, Wataru Hibiki, have a plan to restore that romance! I'm still mulling over the details—these things take time to plan, you know—but I should be able to disclose the details to you tomorrow! Ah, I think he's getting up. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures for you. Have an _amazing_ day!”

Before Keito can reply, Wataru hangs the call up, just as Keito catches a glimpse of Eichi wandering out into the commonhall. Well, it's not as bad as it could be, but Keito still feels a migraine coming on.

He finds himself working harder once he returns to his work, unable to admit that the thought that picture after picture of the love of life will be sent to him for him to see tomorrow is what pushes him forward.

* * *

 

The next day, after practice, Keito and his unit are engaging in conversation over the buns that Kuro had brought in.

“Have you figured out where Tenshouin went?” Kuro asks between bites.

“Europe with Hibiki, who thinks this all some romantic tragicomedy,” Keito grumbles in reply.

“Ouch. Has he picked up your calls?”

“Hibiki called me after student council work yesterday. He should be calling again soon, I think."

“Something tells me that it's not just the fact that Tenshouin's a bit of a brat that he's doing this.”

Keito's head falls back against the wall with a satisfying thud. An incomprehensible groan is all he can muster as an answer.

“Pardon me for trying to invade your privacy, Hasumi-dono, but I believe you should not hide away from your inner struggles,” Souma, his blessed soul, starts. “I'd gladly let you take all your worries out on me.”

“Ngh, don't stab yourself because of something I did, Kanzaki.”

“So you _did_ do something,” Kuro interjects.

“...EichihadanightmareandIdidn'tpickuphiscalleventhoughhewascrying,” he spits out, words blending together into something incomprehensible.

“What?”

Keito heaves a sigh before forcing himself to answer. “A few nights ago, Eichi had this nightmare where he was falling and the only thing keeping him from dying was me holding onto him. But I… dropped him, I guess, and laughed as he was falling. When he woke up, he called me and spammed me with messages asking me to just let him hear my voice, but I hung up and didn't check the messages, and even after I saw them and heard the voicemail, I still didn't say anything.”

Both Kuro and Souma look alarmed, Kuro pulling another portion out of his bun with his teeth before replying. “Well, shit.”

“I know.”

“I didn't think you could fuck it up that bad.”

“I know.”

“Honestly, though I disagree with his language, I have to agree with Kiryuu-senpai,” Souma adds, and Keito feels betrayed beyond what he thought was possible. “You have not played up to your role as the tyrant's lover.”

“You're a shitty boyfriend,” Kuro affirms.

“Well, thanks,” Keito replies sarcastically.

“No, seriously, I'm surprised. I thought you worried too much about him, but I guess that was just his physical health. Y'know, if you keep ignoring his mental health thinking it'll all be fine as long as he's healthy, you'll only end up hurting him more.”

“What, are you and Hibiki my relationship counselors now?”

“In all seriousness, he speaks the truth. I may not be fond of that Tyrant, but my feelings about him don't make a difference right now. It feels weird to admit, but the Tyrant is far out of your league when it comes to these kinds of things. He gives you love, and more love, and even more, so much so that it's a wonder both your hearts haven't burst by now. And yet you take it and stow it away, not once returning it as you rightfully should.”

Just as Keito's about to—or should, but he's stubborn—reply, his phone rings, and he goes to unlock it, the messaging app opening to reveal a barrage of pictures from Wataru. Before he can examine them however, Kuro pulls his phone out of his hand.

“Oh, that's cute, ain't it, Hasumi-danna?”

“Shut up.”

“It's gonna be fun to surprise him in Vienna, huh.”

“Surprise him in Vienna?” Keito probes. “I just said he was in Europe—I never specified a country, let alone a city.”

“Oops, forget I said that.”

“Were you in on this?”

“ _Maybe.”_

“You traitor! Kanzaki is the only one I trust now!”

“While I appreciate the sentiment, I believe you should put more trust in those around you other than me,” Souma butts in.

“Nah, he should just pick up his boyfriend's calls.”

“I thought you two didn't like Eichi.”

“You forced me to babysit him, so I don't _hate_ him,” Kuro tells him, and the first image that comes to Keito's mind is his unit being overrun by the virus that is the stress Eichi puts on him. “And you're fun to tease.”

“Involving yourself in a scheme to send my boyfriend off to Europe doesn't exactly qualify as 'teasing’.”

“You should see your face—oh, Hibiki's video calling you, should I pick up?”

“Give me that,” Keito grumbles, grabbing for his phone. Picking up the call, he puts it on speaker and sets his phone down in front of him.

“Good morning, my fated rival! Did you like the pictures?” Wataru greets, still vibrant even though it's evident he just woke up.

“I didn't get to see them because _someone_ stole my phone. Speaking of, I hear you're sending me off to Europe.”

“In three days,” Wataru affirms. “I can't talk much today, but know that Kiryu-kun has most of it set up for you. I just wanted to check in, I'll call you if I need anything.”

“What would _you_ need?”

A cusp of a smile traces over Wataru's features. “Oh, you'd be surprised, Keito. Even for someone like me, he's a bit of a mystery.”

“Is he already awake?”

Wataru nods. “Yes, so we have to be quick.”

“Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, and—”

“And make sure to remind him that Hasumi loves him, okay?” Kuro finishes, and for some reason, Keito finds it hard to scowl.

“I'll make sure to do both of those things. I'll keep sending you pictures. Have an _amazing_ day!”

The call ends, and Keito's head meets the wall a second time.

“Now that wasn't so hard, was it?”

“The hard part will be seeing Eichi.”

“It's important that you face these things. Even the people you find troublesome can be the ones you hold dear.” There's no mistaking it, the faint coloring of Souma's cheeks.

“Kanzaki, you—”

“—I mean!” he corrects himself, turning his head away abruptly. “Kiryuu-dono and I are here for you.”

After a moment, a smile forms on Keito's features. “Thanks, you two.”

* * *

 

The pictures Wataru sent are downright adorable, Eichi's eyes bright and curious in almost all of them, shining like diamonds against the lens.

He's absolutely precious

* * *

 

On the third day of Wataru and Keito's correspondence, the latter isn't expecting a callback.

_“Keito,”_ his voice is more urgent than Keito ever remembers it being, and it worries him. “How do I get Eichi to take his medicine?”

“Why isn't he?”

“I don't know. I keep telling him I'm not letting him go until he takes it, but he's stubborn.”

“Force-feed it to him if you have to.”

“I'd… rather not. Here, I'll put you on speaker, try and talk some sense into him, alright?”

After a moment, Keito speaks up. “Eichi, can you hear me?”

Eichi ignores Keito, evidently, talking to Wataru directly rather than to Keito, but the phone still registers his voice.

“Why did you call him? I thought I told you I didn't want to hear from him?”

“Eichi,” Keito butts in, “You need to take your medication.”

“You shut up! You don't care either way, do you!” Eichi explodes over the phone, and even though they're miles apart, it feels like Eichi's stabbing him in his gut.

“Eichi, calm down,” Wataru speaks frantically, and for once, Keito pities him.

“Hang up with him and I'll take it.”

He can hear Wataru heave a sigh, bringing the phone back up to the side of his face. “I’ll text you.”

The phone beeps, but Keito doesn't put the phone down, as if he could still somehow transport himself into the moment miles upon miles away. A notification pops up—a text from Wataru assuring Keito that, at the very least, Eichi took his medicine. Despite himself, Keito finds the formality of the text uncomfortable, and wishes that Wataru would return to his usual embellishment.

* * *

 

Another day passes, and this time, there are practically no photos from Wataru, and what little time they'd had to call is cut short when Eichi exits the shower suspiciously quickly.

 

_“Maybe I just shouldn't go, it's obvious he doesn't want to see me.”_

_Wataru's face had contorted with worry. “No, no, I'm sure you can work something out.”_

_“I doubt it,” Keito replies._

_“Hm… you're thinking too hard. Eichi is your boyfriend, and your childhood friend. You quarreled with him, didn't you? That quarrel wasn't meaningless. Maybe, you'll be able to get passed this, and this will just be another childish quarrel of your past. But first, you need to reach each other.”_

 

Does Eichi want to see him? Unlikely—he used Keito's presence (or lack thereof) as a bargaining deal to take his medicine, for God's sake!

But maybe it's just as Wataru says, and they just need to reach each other.

Getting out his phone, he tries to draft a message to Eichi.

_You: I'm not expecting you to forgive me, but I miss you, please stay safe._

No, no, no, that's far too cheesy, so he deletes it. But he can't reach Eichi with nothing, he knows, so he tries again, with something much closer to home.

_You: If you miss school next week, either Isara or Fushimi are going to end up in your pen stash, and you're going to have to use the cheap ones._

He sends it, and instantly (ha!) the _read_ icon pops up.

_Eichi: Tell them no_

Okay, Keito has to admit he's kind of endeared. Somehow, Eichi always finds ways to be cute like this.

_You: Your pen stash is dissipating as we speak_

_Eichi: Will you protect it if I get you a new sketchbook? Or a glasses case?_

_You: I didn't know you liked pens so much_

_Eichi: You make me do so much work, so I have preferences. And it's not like you and your glasses_

_You: What's wrong with my glasses?_

_Eichi: You're basically a pervert when it comes to them._

_You: Say goodbye to your pens_

Keito can't help the smile that spreads across his face, and he wonders if it's the same for Eichi. Ah, how he'd like to tell Eichi what he truly thinks, but what merit is there in trusting someone like Eichi with that? Bickering is how they'd grown close—along with curling up together and planning whatever they could think of—a place of comfort that not even a fight, or a distance that can't be crossed by foot, can hide away.

Maybe Eichi's still mad. Maybe, he really just doesn't want his pens taken.

But that doesn't stop him from sending another message.

_You: Come back soon and I'll make sure your pens don't get stolen_

The _typing_ bar pops up, before lowering, and the cycle repeats three times before Eichi gives up on it entirely.

In the end, Keito ends up changing Eichi's contact name again.

* * *

 

Keito is rudely awakened by someone grabbing at him, and like any nearly grown man would do, immediately squawks.

“Oi, relax. It's just me, Danna.” Thank god, it's only Kuro, but there are still too many unanswered questions.

“Wha—Kiryuu!? What are you—what time is it!?”

Kuro chuckles above him, dropping a pile of clothes atop of Keito. “It's two in the morning, and I'm taking you to the airport. Oh, let me get you a light. I'll just stay here, so change quick.”

Eyes unaccustomed to the sudden brightness, Keito blinks rapidly for a few moments, before finally relaxing and changing. “Why now?”

“The plan is for you to get there when it's seven p.m. in their time,” Kuro answers. “I explained it to your brother, he went and got your passport for me. Here.” He tosses it over his shoulder, and it predictably hits the floor. “I'll give you the papers in the car.”

“While I don't exactly approve of you two sending Eichi to Europe… thanks. I'm done changing.”

Kuro turns to him, and smiles.

“Then let's go, a friend of mine is driving us.”

* * *

 

While Kuro's friend looks very intimidating, he actually seems rather shy, but manages to smile at Keito once before the trip is over.

Trying to get through the airport is a mess, but Keito's determined to make it through. Once he's finally at the gate, he takes a moment to scroll through the pictures Wataru had sent in the days before.

The flight passes in a blur, between him drawing with the supplies he'd bought at the airport and taking short naps, the eleven hours seem to condense into one or two slow hours.

But at least he's finally made it to Vienna—he's finally made it to Eichi.

* * *

 

Waiting in the entrance of their hotel room, Keito hears some hushed conversation between Eichi and Wataru.

“Is the blindfold really necessary?”

“I told you, it's a surprise!”

“Wasn't sending me off to Europe enough of a surprise?”

“If it's for you, then surely I can outdo myself!”

Eichi chuckles, and even from here, Keito's heart jumps. “Well then, I await it eagerly.”

Keito hears footsteps, the energetic, bounding pound of Wataru's feet against the floor. Wordlessly, he takes Keito's hand in his to guide him to the room where Eichi is. Eichi must realize there's another person here, because his posture stiffens. Still, he looks downright beautiful, even just sitting with his eyes covered like this.

Seeing Eichi for what feels like the first time in years does something to Keito's heart, because it overflows with fondness in the very moment it happens.

_I missed you._

Unable to stop himself, Keito let's his feet move of their own volition to take him to Eichi. Resting his forefinger under Eichi's chin, he tilts Eichi's head up, and leans down to whisper into his ear.

“I missed you, Eichi.”

Eichi's lips part in surprise—maybe he wants to say something, but whatever it is, it's silenced by Keito's lips on his. Closing his eyes, Keito brings his hands around Eichi's torso to pull him into a soft embrace, one hand going up to undo the blindfold and throw it off to the side. Eichi's arms loop around his neck, and it takes a few moments for him to loosen up his grip so that Keito can lean back for a breath of air.

Immediately, Eichi's standing, throwing himself against Keito's chest. “You idiot! You're awful, absolutely incorrigible!”

Keito stays still, cradling Eichi in his arms. “I know, I know.”

“And you're unfair, too!” Eichi whines.

“You're not the first to tell me.”

Shaking his head, Eichi leans back, and for the first time in a week, Keito's eyes meet those dazzling pools of blue and he feels _blessed._

“No, not for what you did. It's the fact that even though you're like this, I'm still helplessly in love with you.”

Keito smiles, touching his nose to Eichi's in an Eskimo kiss. “I'm the luckiest man in the world.”

“You are,” Eichi agrees. “In exchange, cuddle with me tonight, someone needs to warm up my bed.”

“Gladly,” Keito smiles. “But that can wait until tonight, we have company.”

Wataru laughs jubilantly, his voice flowing into the room like music. “Don't mind me, I thought it was beautiful!”

It's hard to even fake a scowl like this, and Keito ends up with a weird sort of half smile. “But I do mind you. And Eichi, I have another present for you.”

“Do you? Ah, I feel like it's my birthday.”

“It's not quite that big a present; you've been spoiled plenty. It's just… you asked me to change your contact name.”

Pulling his phone out, he opens it to his messaging app, and puts it in front of Eichi. He doesn't even need to look at it, the image that Eichi is seeing has been imprinted into his mind.

At the top, Eichi's contact name has been changed to 'My Angel’, and he can see Eichi smile at that. Eichi's gaze drifts across the screen, before landing at the bottom and stilling. Keito knows what's caught his attention—an unsent text message:

_I love you._

He feels Eichi's finger press against the screen, almost certainly where the _send_ button is located, and it feels like Eichi's pressing against his heart, squeezing it in his palm.

“I love you, too.”

The phone is released from Eichi's grasp, who puts it off to the side, before cupping Keito's cheeks.

“And I'm happy to be your angel.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know I compare Eichi to angel in every keichi but his unit is based on the image of an angel and he's on the verge of death, so the comparison makes sense I hope?????


End file.
